Museum-Quality Beauty
by cwkitkat98
Summary: First go at slash! Short, fluffy: read, review, and enjoy! Kirk and Spock are stuck on a floating outer space museum! Will their time alone be long enough for their true feelings to come out? Rated T because I'm paranoid.


**Author's Note: This is my first time trying to write anything like this. Yes, it's slash, starring the pairing that started it all. It's a short story, and very fluffy. I obviously do not own any of the characters in this story, or the fabulous series **_**Star Trek**_**. Read, review, enjoy! Constructive criticism is welcome!**

**Museum – Quality Beauty**

**Chapter One**

He woke up, shaking and sweaty, his heart pounding so loud he could hear it. _Why, _he thought, _why does that dream have to feel so … real?_ He shuddered as he recalled the dream, every detail, every touch. He trembled, and could almost feel the hot breath of air on his neck. And he heard pounding. Only this time, it wasn't in his head.

"Damn it, Jim. What the hell happened to coffee today? You know I needed to confirm the new fitness regulations with you." McCoy stalked into the room shouting this, pissed no doubt due to his lack of caffeine. Kirk sat up in bed and, smirking, sleepily admitted, "Well, I guess I overslept."

McCoy glared at him, but his anger turned to concern as he observed the captain. "Jim, are you all right? You look red, and you're sweating like a pig. Stay there, I'll check you out." McCoy moved to examine him.

"No, Bones. I'm all right, I promise. It was just a – an intense dream," Kirk said, trying to hide the uncontrollable smile brought up by the memory of the dream behind a grimace.

"If you need something to help you sleep, I could always give you-"

"No!" Jim interrupted, "No. It's fine, I'll be fine. I really don't mind." _I __really __don't,_ his mind echoed.

McCoy sighed, frustrated. "You know, I try to understand your aversion to medicines, but really, it's just a sleeping drug. Jesus, you and Spock both, I have to restrain you just to give you a hypospray. Then I have to knock you unconscious just to get you to Sick Bay! It would make my job so much easier if you –"

"Ok, ok, I get it," Kirk interrupted again, cheeks and neck burning. "Just let me get dressed and we can discuss it on the bridge." McCoy just grunted and started out of the quarters. "Bones, wait!"

McCoy paused without turning around, one foot out the door, as Kirk asked sheepishly, "Bring me a coffee?"

* * *

"Good morning, Captain! We missed you at breakfast," Uhura chirped as she fell in step with him. They reached the lift to the bridge.

"Bridge. Yes, I simply overslept," Kirk admitted, not meeting her eyes. Uhura turned to him, looking concerned.

"Captain, that's not like you. Are you all right?"

"Yes! Oh, is it not enough to have McCoy riding my ass in the morning, now half the bridge?"

Uhura looked stunned at her Captain's outburst. "I'm sorry, Captain, I just…" She trailed off.

"No, I'm sorry. Like I said, I overslept. I'm a bit, er, grumpy," Kirk said, forcing a smile. Uhura smiled and nodded at him as she stepped out of the lift. She was always so understanding. Kirk saw McCoy turn, standing by his chair. He sighed inwardly, and stepped out of the lift. The doors closed as he settled into his chair and picked up his coffee.

Bones launched into a speech about physicals, and newly researched fitness regimens. Kirk sipped his coffee and cast his eyes around the bridge. Scotty was busy chatting with an ensign, Uhura talking with Chekov from across the bridge, Sulu just now getting to his chair – _no one interrogated him about his lateness, _Kirk thought bitterly – until his eyes finally came to rest on his First officer and Science officer, Mr. Spock. He was bent intently over the computer screen, eyes never leaving it as his hand scribbled something on a padd. The hand paused, hovered over the padd. Though his face remained expressionless, Kirk knew that something was stumping that wonderful mind.

"Bones, that sounds great. I'll sign off right now," Kirk interrupted, reaching for the padd. He signed it, and Bones snatched it out of his hands and walked to the lift, grumbling.

"Spock," Kirk called, "Is there something wrong?"

Spock turned to him and straightened, his hands clasped behind his back. "I was just receiving some high levels of radiation. It gets stronger exponentially, yet there is no detectable source so far."

"Is it dangerous?"

"The ship's shields can handle the elevated radiation levels, however, the source is potentially dangerous. It may be detected soon."

"Good. Keep me notified. Chekov, Sulu, keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Kirk frequently thanks god for his excellent and efficient crew, especially McCoy and Spock, his two closest friends.

Spock. Intelligent, resourceful, the perfect Starfleet officer. Too late, Kirk realized he was staring at him, and he quickly turned to Scotty. Spock raised an eyebrow and went back to his work. Kirk shivered once, and then began talking to Scotty about some new ensigns.

* * *

"Captain! Look at this!" called Sulu frantically as Chekov stared wide-eyed at the screen. Kirk swiveled around yelling "Magnify!" but his mouth stopped working as he caught sight of the gigantic ship heading straight for them.

"Captain, what do you want us to do?" This came behind him from Scotty, who he knew was absolutely terrified and totally in awe of the gigantic ship. This vessel was at least five times the size of the Enterprise, the largest ship in the Federation's fleet. It was built almost like a human spine, long, flexible, and it moved almost like a fish would swim through the ocean. In between the vertebrae, a blue-white light was visible.

"Captain, I don't think we need to magnify any farther," said Sulu, still in shock.

"Thanks, Sulu. Spock, what the hell is that thing?"

"The source of the radiation, definitely. Some sort of ship, most likely to transport cargo, as the amount of carbon-based life forms on board numbers just 79."

"79? For that huge thing? How?" Chekov was dumbstruck.

Uhura called, "Captain, I've tried hailing them, but there is no response."

"Contact Starfleet." Kirk turned to Scotty, asking, "Scotty, have you ever seen anything like it?"

"No, Captain. I believe I'd remember if I'd come across this before."

"I believe it too. Uhura have you-"

And that's all he got to say before the bridge disappeared.

**Chapter Two**

Kirk opened his eyes and sat up. He was facing a window, through which he could see his ship.

The Enterprise.

**His ship. **

Which means he was in the other ship. With who? He looked around the little cell he was in. It was bare except for a low bed and small toilet. There was no door; rather, a huge, clear wall, with a small hatch. He tried the hatch; it, of course, was locked. It would have been a squeeze to get out anyway. Across a wide expanse of white floor, he could see more cells, but couldn't make out what was in each. The white part was brightly lit, but bare. In the distance, he could see a group approaching his cell. As they came into view, Kirk saw two tall, rail-thin beings wearing lab coats. Their exposed skin was a weird green pigment, and their faces were almost human. Their features were distorted, eyes a bit too big and a bit too far apart, and they were shockingly bright colors, bright pink and orange, with oil-slick pupils. Their noses were extremely flat with two slits for nostrils, and their mouths were just a bit too wide. They had small outer ears. Between the two of them, they guided a floating cot with a body on it. As they got closer, Kirk cried out. The body was Spock!

The aliens opened the hatch and pushed the floating cot through. Kirk grabbed hold of Spock, and guided the cot to the low bed. _Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please _– he thought as he searched for a pulse. Finally! He felt the heartbeat and watched as Spock's chest slowly rose and fell. As he felt his pulse, and watched that strong chest, he was sucked back into his dream. That strong chest, moving gently now, had been heaving. That slow, steady pulse had been wild and erratic and loud beneath his palm…

Kirk wrenched himself back into reality. After ascertaining Spock was not injured, he searched for a communicator, a phaser, a tricorder, something he could use to get them both out. As he was frantically searching, one of the aliens came back to the cell and pushed a button next to it.

"Human. Your fellow is not harmed. It will wake in a moment. You may ask questions now."

Kirk stalked to the wall, facing the alien. "What is this place? Where the hell are you from? What the hell _are_ you? And why the _hell_ aren't we on my ship?!"

The alien smiled slightly. "An inquisitive species. Wonderful. You are in habitat 174b, carbon area, on floor 23, in section 12, in the famous Chroma Galaxy Museum. We are from the Chroma galaxy. We are scientists commissioned by the museum's curators to explore and collect samples from far galaxies. My name is Eeyerta. You are subject 1678, and your fellow is subject 1678a. We collected you two from your vessel."

Kirk looked dumbfounded. "There has to be a mistake. I am Captain Kirk, and this is Mr. Spock. We are Starfleet officers, not specimens. Let us go back to our ship, and then take your museum out of this galaxy! The Federation will not stand for this, I'm sorry. Now, release anybody you picked up in this galaxy, and let us all go back to the Enterprise in peace."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I don't have confirmation to release any specimens. You'll have to wait until we dock to appeal your position."

"When do you dock?"

"Whenever we get back to our galaxy." With that, Eeyerta turned and walked away. Kirk pounded at the wall. "Eeyerta, wait! You can't leave us!"

"Captain?"

Kirk turned at the call. "Spock! Thank God! We have to get out of here!"

"Where, exactly, is here?"

So Kirk told him everything he knew. It seemed hopeless. "Spock, how many do you think are on this thing?"

"I saw 79 carbon-based life forms, most concentrated at the front of the ship, with a few scattered around the ship. I assume that means these beings are carbon-based, and there are around 70 of them. In addition to the beings, as we are specimens 1678 and 1678a, and, accounting for the dimensions of this ship, there are 2300 life forms on this vessel, most of which I assume to be previously undiscovered to the Federation. If the circumstances were different, I would quite … enjoy being on this ship."

Kirk looked wildly at him. "We'll be stuck in this zoo for the rest of our lives if we can't get out! I'm positive the Enterprise can't get us out, or we'd be gone already!" Kirk paused and his head snapped to the window. "The Enterprise!"

"I do not believe this ship has any weapons capable of damaging the Enterprise," Spock remarked. "Regardless, they will follow us anyway. The only danger is the high amount of radiation this ship gives off. Captain, calm down. The situation is unfavorable, but hardly a crisis. We will find a way out."

Kirk sighed. "Thank you, Mr. Spock. I trust you." _But do I trust myself – days and nights stuck in this close proximity with him._ Once again, the dream filled his mind, and he was forced to bite his nail to keep from moaning aloud. _Thank God Spock was oblivious to these things. I don't trust myself to last _–

"Captain?" Kirk jumped at this. "Are you well? You seem…Distracted."

"Ah, yes. In fact, I'm starving. I had no time for lunch today. I wonder when we get fed."

* * *

As it turns out, dinner time was a few long hours later. Hours filled mostly with escape attempts; breaking the walls (which resulted in one dislocated shoulder, which, much to Kirk's chagrin, Spock quickly set right); trying to jimmy the hatch open (impossible); painstakingly searching the cell, inch by inch (yielding nothing but some dust); and finally, attempting to signal the Enterprise through the small window (which required them to wave their shirts around like mad men and made Jim blush like a schoolgirl and possibly pant a bit). Their attempts left them exhausted. Spock was sitting with his back to the clear wall, and Kirk was lying on the bed. And neither of them had any idea what to do.

"It is fascinating that such a small room can instigate such exhausting exertions," Spock remarked.

Kirk blurted out, "You have no idea" before he could filter it. He then proceeded to smack himself on the forehead.

Spock looked to him. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, I'm stuck in here!" Kirk shouted. _With you. And without a shirt._ Because Eeyerta confiscated their shirts using teleportation after witnessing their last feeble attempt to hail the Enterprise.

Spock knew not to push it, so he shifted around to face the bare expanse of white.

_Sure, turn your back to me_, thought Kirk. _Your muscular, beautiful back_… He didn't even try this time. He let the dream take over.

**Chapter Three**

_The dream always started in a different area of the ship. Last night, for the first time, he found himself in Spock's quarters. He could count on one hand the amount of times he'd been in there. Meetings held between the senior officers rarely took place in the First officer's quarters. The room was dark and uncomfortably warm. Spock was sitting in a chair, facing away from the door. Kirk stepped closer to the chair. He still didn't turn. He tiptoed right up to the back of the chair, and Spock still didn't turn. Kirk knew he was aware of his presence. He reached out and put his hand on Spock's shoulder. As soon as his hand made contact, Spock leapt up, spun around, and pushed him up against the wall, pinning him. Oddly enough, it was Spock who looked puzzled. Perhaps he was confused about his own actions. Regardless, Kirk's face was now an inch away from his First officer's, and he couldn't hold it in any longer. He pushed his lips against Spock's, forcefully kissing him. Spock's eyes opened wide, like a deer in the headlights, and he let out a muffled sound of surprise. Taken off guard, his grip slackened, and Kirk brought his hands up, one on Spock's shoulder, and one on the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Finally, Kirk forced himself to pull away, and looked at Spock's face. His eyebrows were sky high, eyes wide, mouth still slightly open. Kirk was more turned on by that look than anything he had ever come across in his life. He wasn't thinking straight. So when Spock leaned in and pressed his lips to Kirk's, it felt completely surreal. It was all he could do to remain standing, and kiss him back. _

_ Eventually, the kiss became more forceful, desperate. Kirk paused for a moment to pull off his shirt. He tossed it aside, then pulled off Spock's and ran his hands over his chest. Spock shuddered. They shuffled over to the bed, lips refusing to part, hands roaming all over each other. Spock's hand made it up to Kirk's face, and Kirk gasped as their minds connected. They both knew exactly what to do next. _

**Chapter Four**

Kirk was woken by a hand on his leg. "You can climb up here if you want," he murmured, still half asleep. Spock's brow shot up. "Captain, is that a jest?"

_Oh god_, Kirk thought. _Oh wow, that's hot_. He cleared his throat. "Um, yes. Yes, it was a joke. What did you want?" Spock looked at him in disbelief. "I was merely trying to wake you. A guard brought us food. I knew you said you were hungry." Kirk flushed. "Ah, excellent. Real food. I haven't had a burger in forever." He noticed Spock wasn't eating anything. "Spock, why don't you try something?"

Spock shook his head slightly. "I can go without food for a long time, Captain. Your appetite, on the other hand, seems to grow every day." Kirk laughed. "Is that sarcasm? Ha! I'm surprised at you, I –"

He was interrupted by the arrival of Eeyerta. "What do you want?"

Eeyerta looked startled. "I was simply checking up on the two newest exhibits. How are you doing?" Spock answered before Kirk could blurt out "fantastic!" "We do not require you to check up on us, unless you have news regarding our current position."

Eeyerta looked at Spock and smirked. "What a pair you two are. I've gotten more lip from both of you in a day than I get in a year from the other specimens. I suppose I have news. Your ship is still following us. They haven't yet realized it's futile." Spock asked, "Have they contacted you?"

Eeyerta stared at him blankly. "We have no such device. We have no need. My people have the ability to communicate telepathically, even over long distance, at a special frequency."

"Fascinating," Spock muttered. With that, Eeyerta turned and walked away, mumbling about "the sassy pair of humans."

Kirk groaned. "We can't transport out, and now we can't even contact anyone. Oh god, we'll be stuck here forever. I hope Scotty and McCoy are having a hell of a time." He turned back to his burger, and Spock turned to look at Kirk with curiosity.

Eeyerta did return once more before "nightfall" in the ship, and Spock asked for a deck of cards. He got a strange look from Eeyerta, and he and Kirk explained what it was. Eeyerta managed to find one, and he looked quizzically as Kirk started to shuffle it. Eeyerta walked away shaking his head, thanking the stars that humans were not his area of study.

Spock spent hours teaching Kirk a Vulcan card game, which Kirk could neither pronounce nor win at. Eventually, the lights shut off, and they settled in for a long night. Spock insisted Kirk take the only bed, and, after a long argument, Kirk finally laid down, both fearing and welcoming sleep.

* * *

The dream again. At least, he thought so. He was in their cell, sitting on the low bed. Spock was facing the clear wall, looking into the darkness. Kirk got down on his hands and knees, and crawled towards Spock, whispering his name. He didn't respond. Kirk had no fucking clue whether this was real or not. He didn't really care, but there was one way to find out.

He laid his hand on Spock's shoulder. Spock jumped and spun around, knocked Kirk aside, and had him pinned to the floor in record time before he could even think. Spock looked surprised and ashamed, frozen on top of Kirk. "I apologize, Captain, I – I was in deep meditation. You startled me, and being trapped here has…affected me. I am sorry."

Kirk wasn't hearing a word Spock was saying. He was on a different planet, lost in Spock's eyes.

"Captain? Jim? What's wrong? Are you-"

Spock stopped abruptly as his hand accidentally grazed Kirk's face, and he caught a glimpse of Kirk's thoughts. "Jim?"

Kirk caught Spock's hand and held it to his cheek, his eyes never leaving the Vulcan's. Time slowed to standstill. He lifted his head, and started closing the gap between them. Spock might as well have been a statue. He didn't move, he didn't blink, he didn't breathe. He watched Kirk's thoughts, frozen. And then – he started to melt. His head dipped. The inches between them turned into centimeters, into millimeters…

A light flicked on outside their cell. Spock jumped to his feet and hauled Kirk up at the same time as Eeyerta crowed, "Well well well, what do we have here?"

"What do you want, Eeyerta?" Kirk snapped, still foggy in his trance.

"Well, I have some news for you, but I can simply wait…" He pivoted as if to walk away.

"No." Spock pounded on the wall. "Say what you came to say."

Eeyerta laughed nervously. "Well, somehow your Enterprise was able to…patch a message through to us? Anyway, they said, quote; 'We have enough firepower to blow you all the way to Andromeda, and if you don't return our men, you're going for a ride.' While Andromeda is our next destination, we'd prefer to make it there in one piece. So, you two will be returned effective immediately. I just need to go and get the transporter control." Eeyerta skittered away, leaving Spock and Kirk alone again.

"Jim," Spock said quietly, as they both stared directly ahead.

"Yes, Spock?" Kirk whispered back, half afraid of what the Vulcan was going to say.

"The, uh, mind-meld is a very, um, involved and sensitive ritual," Spock stuttered.

"Yes Spock. I understand. You don't need to say anymore." He turned to his First officer. "We're going home. We'll talk about it later." Eeyerta returned with a control pad, and with a "ta-ta," he pressed the button, and the cell disappeared.

**Chapter Five**

The first three words he heard when he appeared were McCoy growling into his ear, "Sick bay, now." He turned to Spock. "Both of you." Kirk laughed as he and Spock were whisked along, and Spock, looking at him, even cracked a smile. They were home.

Later on, in Sick bay, Scotty and Uhura came down to visit the two. Kirk gave them a round of applause as they entered. Spock's first question was obvious; "How did you do it?"

Scotty laughed. "Well, the first thing Uhura did was sweep every single frequency known to man, thinking they had to have some form of communication device. We found nothing. We thought there was some kind of shield, as a transporter beam couldn't get through either. We sent probe after probe at it, and detected no shield."

Uhura jumped in. "We were at our wits' end. We were going to send manned spacecraft to intercept it, but Scotty had one more idea. The two of did some re-wiring and – well, to put it simply, we created a new frequency to hail them, and it worked!"

Kirk laughed in disbelief, and Spock muttered, "Fascinating."

Scotty smiled. "And, with a little bluffing, we soon had them raring to give you up."

"When will you two return to the bridge?" asked Uhura hopefully.

"Tomorrow." McCoy glared at Kirk and Spock, but said nothing.

* * *

Later that night, in Sick bay, Kirk got up and sat on the bed next to Spock's. Spock didn't respond when Kirk called his name, and Kirk smiled and reached for his shoulder.

**Thanks for reading! This was my first go at slash, so review it, please!**


End file.
